Motor vehicle door system



Feb. 10, 1953 A. RAPPL 235357991 MOTOR VEHICLE DOOR SYSTEM Filed June 14, 1947 2 SHEETS-SI-IEET 1 Hmmg l v k INVENTOR Am: 0/7 fzap a/ /49 BY ATTORNEYS Feb. 10, 1953 A. RAPPL MOTOR VEHICLE DOOR SYSTEM 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed June 14, 1947 INVENTOR Anton fiapp/ BY M ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MOTOR V EIHCLE DOOR STEM Anton Rappl, Eggertsville, N. 1., assignor to Tri'co Prodi'zcts Corporation, Buffalo, N. Y.

Application June 14, 1947, 'S'erial'No. 754,672

6 Claims. 1

invention relates to a motor Vehicle and primarily to a mechanism for operating the door or" the vehicle. It has heretofore been proposed to open and close the swinging door of an automobile by fluid pressure.

The present invention has for its object to provide an improved door actuating mechanism which is practical and efficient and insures the uhlatching of the door prior to the operation of the door actuating motor.

A further object of the invention is to provide door actuating means wherein the door is controlled in its outward swinging as a factor of safety "against injury to any person standin nearby.

The invention will further be found to reside in "animproved power operated mechanism which will function independently of the usual hand control.

The foregoing and other objects will manifest themselves as the following description progrosses, reference being had to the accompanying'drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic lay-out illustrating the application of a door operated mechanism embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the showing iii-Fig.1;

'3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view through the door actuating motor;

Fig.4 is a modified showing of the time delay unit "for definitely insuring the motor actuation with respect to the door unlatchi-n'g means; and

Fig. 5 is a similar view depicting a further modified time delay unit.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral -l designates a door of the motor vehicle hinged at its forward edge by supporting means -2 and having a latch 3 on its rear edge operable by a handle 3 to enable the manual o ening and closing of the door when such ac tuation is desired.

Forpower actuation of the -de0r,'the vehicle is provided with a motor, preferably of the fluid type and having a cylinder or chamber 6 and a piston l, which latter term comprehe'nds any fluid pressure responsive member. 'The motor may be pivotally mounted on the vehicle "chassis 8, by a bracket 9, and have its piston rod Ill p'ivotally connected toan arm l2 of a rock shaft [3. A second arm M on the shaft has its free end slidablyand .pivotally engaged with a guide- IS on the bottom edge of the door. The fluid pressure differential for actuating the motor may be derived from a suitable source, such as the intake manifold P6, to which latter the motor chamber is connected by the supply conduit ll. This conduit opens through branch passages 18, and the ports I9, 26 in the chamber heads 2! and 22, into the opposite ends of the chamber. A valve part 23 normally engages a seat 24 in each suction passage 18 to close "oh the suction communication and to vent the motor chamber "to the atmosphere through a port 25. Consequently, the piston i normally will be atmospherically balanced by reason-of the atmospheric vents at the opposite sides thereof. Filter pads 26 screen out ioreignparticles from entering "the vents 25. An electro-magnet 21 is adapted to attract its armature 23 to unseat the valve part 23 and seat a' second valve part 29 over the venting port '25 to close the latter. Therefore, in the attracted position the valve 23, 29, will close on? the atmosphere from, and open the suction to, the motor. These valves at the opposite ends of the motor chamber are selectively controlled by a switch 39 which is accessibly located. When the valve is actuated the door will be swun accordingly.

Means are provided to retard the opening movement of the door and thereby prevent injury to any person standing alongside the vehicle and in the path of the swinging door. For this purpose the capacity of the port I9, or its associated passage I8, is restricted, as 'at 3!, to throttle the evacuation of the air, 'from in-advance of the piston. In order to avoid this retarding means functioning when the door is being power-closed a valve 32 is provided to bypass the restriction for freely admitting air behind the piston. For compactness, the doorretarding port 3| may be formed in the valve 3-2 which is of disk shape. A spring 33 will act normally to close the valve over the port l9 so as to permit the valve opening for the free admis- 'sion of atmospheric pressure to the trailing side of the piston when the door is being closed.

To-facilitate the manual opening and closing of the door the two cylinder heads 2 and 22"are provided with pressure relieving ports 3 and 35 which are normally closed by valves '36 and 31 engaging the seats 38 and 39-, respectively, under the urge of the springs 48 and M. As the door is manually opened the piston will move to the right, as viewed in Fig. "3, and build up air pressure in advance of the piston to unseat the pressure relieving valve '3"! against fluid resistance to the manual effort. Likewise, when the door is being manually closed, the valve "36 will unseat in response to the pressure in front of the piston and relieve the same. Therefore, the door may be readily opened or closed manually without abnormal resistance being offered by the motor. However, when suction is applied to either side of the chamber the pressure diffcrentialwill act to hold the forward pressure relieving valve to its seat.

For power actuation of the door the latch 3 will be power retracted automatically as by means of a relatively small motor having a chamber 42 and a piston 43. The piston rod 44 is connected to a latch retracting lever 45 by a play connection 46 which enables the manual retraction of the latch without moving the piston. Likewise the latch is connected to the handle 4 by a play connection 4'! to avoid moving the handle when the latch is power actuated. These play connections readily permit a return spring 48 normally to project the latch to its operative position. The motor chamber 42 is connected to the suction supply line I? by a conduit 49 so that whenever the door motor is operated the latch will also be retracted. The capacity of the conduit 48 is preferably larger than the door retardin port 31 to cause the latch to disengage before the door motor functions.

Means may be provided to positively insure the initial retraction of the latch before the door motor becomes effective. Fig. 4 illustrates, by way of example, such means wherein the latch releasing motor is, in effect, interposed in the pressure line leading to the door motor and associated with means to confine the pressure solely to the latch motor until the door is unlatched. To this end, an extension conduit 58 leads from the latch motor chamber 42 to the side of the door motor chamber to which the suction infiuence is applied when the door is to be opened, and intenposed within this passage as is a check valve i, which, when the latch motor chamber is connected to the suction line, will close upon its seat 52 and thereby confine the suction solely to the piston 43. After the piston retracts the latch 3 from its keeper it will then function to establish interchamber communication. 'Io-this end the piston may carry a lug 53 which is designed to unseat (the valve 5| after the latch reaches its retracted position, such valve unseating operation serving to open the suction line between the latch motor chamber and the door motor chamber. Thereafter, the door motor will become energized and open the door. 1

For closing the door, at which time the suction will be applied. to the left hand side of the piston l, as viewed in Fig. 3, the outside atmosphere will enter the door motor chamber at the right side of the piston through the circuitous path provided by the vent 215, Fig. 4, conduit 4S, the latch motor chamber 42', the extended passage 50, and the motor port It, for providing the required pressure differential for fluid actuation of the door piston i. A spring 54 may be provided to unseat the valve 5!.

In the modified embodiment of Fig. 5 a bowed spring leaf 55 is provided to assist the latch spring 48 in urging the latch to its operative position. In this embodiment the valve unseating lug 53 is carried by the valve 5! and is designed to protrude through an opening 56 in the spring 55 to be contacted by the descending piston 43" when the suction influence is initially applied through the passage 49". This action will serve to unseat the valve in a downward direotion and against the action of the underlying spring 54'.

Should it become necessary to further retard the opening movement of the door the passage l8 may be throttled by rotatably adjusting the valve 5'1, as by means of a knob 58. A like control may also be provided for retarding the closing movement of the door, the valve 51 having its end face cut on a bias so as to progressively advance across the passage I 8 to more or less fully restrict its capacity.

The door operator is practical in design and safe in operation. The opening movement of the door is controlled against violent bodily contact with anyone standing along the side of the vehicle. Obviously the door retarding means 3| could be arranged in the companion passage I9 for affecting the door closing movement if such is desired. The latch is always retracted prior to door movement so as to insure a practical and efficient accessory system for the motor vehicle.

While the foregoing description has been given in detail it is without thought of limitation since the inventive principles and teachings involved are capable of assuming other physical embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A door operator for motor vehicles, comprising a motor operatively connectible to the vehicle door for moving the same to and from a closed position, control means for said motor comprising interlock means normally preventing energization of said motor for door opening operation thereof, a latch normally holding the door in its closed position, and a second motor connected to the latch for rendering the latter inoperative, said second motor having a moving part having a normal position operatively corresponding to the normal operative position of said latch and an operating displacement through and beyond an intermediate position operatively corresponding to the inoperative position of said latch, said part being adapted and arranged to actuate said interlock means by and upon displacement thereof beyond said intermediate position for rendering the door motor operative subsequent to the unlatching of the door.

2. In a motor vehicle having an outwardly swinging door, a latch normally holding the door in its closed position, motor means operable initially to unlatch the door and then swing the door outwardly to an open position, manual means operable to retract the latch, said motor means comprising a fluid motor having a chamber with a piston siidable therein, retarding means providing restricted communication between one end of the chamber and a source of operating pressure to retard the opening movement of the door by said motor means, and independent means comprising a venting check valve communicating with one end of the chamber and opening in the direction of the fluid flow in said one end freeing the door of said retarding means for the manual opening of the door.

3. A door operator for motor vehicles, comprising a fluid motor operatively connected to a vehicle door for moving th same to and from a closed position, a latch normally holding the door in its closed position, a second fluid motor having moving means connected to the latch for rendering the same inoperative, said moving means having a normal position positively corresponding to the operative position of said latch and an operating travel through and beyond an intermediate position positively corresponding to the inoperative position of said latch, conduit means connectable for operatively supplying the door motor with a flow of operating fluid presmeans by and upon travel of said moving means beyond said intermediate position.

4. In a motor vehicle having a movable door, a fluid motor connected to the door for moving the same back and forth, said motor havingga" piston slidable in a chamber, control valve means operable selectively to open the chamber at one side of the piston to a source of suction and td open the other side to the atmosphere for operat ing the motor by the pressure differential, and la venting check valve communicating between the" atmosphere and one end of the chamber and opening outwardly therefrom and being respon sive to super-atmospheric pressure for reducing the build-up of an abnormal pressure resistance to manual movement of the door. 7 5. In a motor vehicle having an outwardly swinging door, a fluid motor for swinging the door to and from its closed position, said motor having a chamber and a piston with passage means for selectively connecting either end'go'f the chamber to a source of suction, a pressure rolieving check valve communicating betweenthe atmosphere and one end of the chamber and opening outwardly therefrom and responsive to super-atmospheric pressure to avoid the buildup of an abnormal pressure resistance to the manual operation of the door in one direction, and a flow restricting check valve in one passage means acting to restrict atmospheric communication to retard motor movement of the door'in one direction and opening to freely admit atmospheric pressure in the opposite direction.

6. A door operator for motor vehicles comprising a suction motor operatively connected to a vehicle door for moving the same to and from a closed position, a latch normally holding the door in its closed position, a second suction motor hav ing moving means connected to the latch for rendering the same inoperative, said moving means having a normal position positively corresponding to the operative position of said latch and an operative travel through and beyond an intermediate position positively corresponding to the inoperative position of said latch, conduit means including control mean-s connected to the door motor for operatively supplying the door motor with an operating suction for door opening movement, normally closed valve means in said conduit means, said moving means being adapted and arranged to open said valve means by and upon travel of said moving means beyond Said intermediate position, and check valve means connected to the door motor in parallel with said conduit means and opening outwardly to the atmosphere.

ANTON RAPPL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Rappl Apr. 20, 1948 

